Patriots-Bills Stock Watch: Pats defense keeps Josh Allen in check

The New England Patriots didn't beat the Buffalo Bills in Sunday's Week 16 game at Highmark Stadium, but it still was, in several ways, an encouraging performance for head coach Jerod Mayo's team.

The Patriots were heavy underdogs coming in, but they played the AFC East-leading Bills pretty tough, even jumping out to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. A difficult second half, highlighted by numerous self-inflicted errors, ultimately led to a 24-21 loss for the Patriots.

The Patriots defense gave up just 17 points (Buffalo's defense also scored a TD) and largely held Bills quarterback and NFL MVP favorite Josh Allen in check. Allen threw for 154 yards -- his fourth-lowest total in a game this season -- with one touchdown and one interception.

There were a few encouraging aspects about the Patriots offense's performance, too. The run game picked up 126 yards (4.2 per carry) and scored a touchdown. New England also went 7-for-12 on third down after going 0-for-6 last week. But the game was lost in the second half when the Patriots offense turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions. You can't do that against an elite opponent and expect to win.

The Patriots now have a 3-12 record entering Saturday's Week 17 matchup versus the Los Angeles Chargers at Gillette Stadium. But before we look ahead to that game, Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry share their "Stock Up" and "Stock Down" selections from Sunday's loss to Buffalo:

Stock Up

DeMarcus Covington, Defensive coordinator

The Bills offense scored 90 points in the previous two weeks combined, but this unit scored only 17 against the Patriots defense. New England's secondary did a nice job covering Buffalo wideouts and tight ends, too. Bills running back James Cook led the team with just 26 receiving yards.

Perry: "I think to put together that kind of plan, especially where -- I don't know if you noticed it watching it on TV -- but watching this game, especially early, it looked like Josh Allen was very unsure of where he wanted to go with the football.

"... There were a lot of scramble drill plays for Josh. I know that's part of his game. But I give (the Patriots defense) credit for what they did, especially in the secondary, because it wasn't like they were getting a ton of immediate pressure on him to create those scrambled situations. It was, 'Read No. 1, to read No. 2, to read No. 3, back to one, should I run? Should I just extend the throw?' And I give the defensive plan a lot of credit for that.

"… Anytime you can keep a team that has scored 90 points in the last two games to 24, that's a pretty good job."

Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Kyle Dugger, Safety

Dugger led the Patriots with six solo tackles (one for loss).

Curran: "I'm gonna go Kyle Dugger, staying on the defensive side of the ball with a stock up for him because we've ragged on him a little bit for his performance in the last few weeks, and he really had an outstanding game I thought today."

Perry: "I agree with you there. He made a couple of nice hits, and he was part of that plan that slowed down Josh Allen."

Jerod Mayo, Head coach

The Patriots going on the road in harsh weather conditions and losing by just three points to one of the league's top Super Bowl contenders is an impressive feat. You could call it a moral victory, but the bottom line is the Patriots played much better than they did last week against a worse opponent in the Arizona Cardinals.

Curran: "I think that Jerod Mayo gets a stock up because his team showed up and was not in disarray."

Stock Down

Rhamondre Stevenson, Running back

Stevenson ran for 60 yards on 12 carries, including a 14-yard touchdown run that put the Patriots up 14-0 in the second quarter. However, he had a costly fumble in the third quarter and was part of another fumble that led to a Bills touchdown in the fourth quarter. Stevenson leads all non-QBs with seven fumbles (three lost) this season.

Perry: "I'm gonna go Rhamondre Stevenson. I don't give him 100 percent of the blame on the backward pass into the end zone, but man, it's a bad time to just have one go straight off your chest plate or whatever happened there. And then he had a bad fumble. Antonio Gibson fumbled, too, but at least he recovered it. This is a significant issue for him.

"I don't know what you do with Stevenson moving forward. He's at seven fumbles, I believe, on the season now. It's just a tough look for a guy who's supposed to be one of your best players."